Method and apparatus for monitoring casinos and gaming

ABSTRACT

A system automatically monitors playing and wagering of a game. A table monitor in a chip tray automatically images the activity occurring at a gaming table, including the placement of wagers. A processor processes image date to locate wagering pieces, identify the value of each wagering piece, the amount of the wager, and to verify the authenticity of the wagering pieces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present description generally relates to monitoring various aspectsof casinos and gaming, and more specifically relates to automated gameand wager tracking and analysis.

2. Description of the Related Art

Casinos and other forms of gaming are a multi-billion dollar, world-wideindustry. Typically, a customer exchanges currency or some form ofcredit for a casino's chips. The customer places the chips as wagers atvarious games, such as blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat. A gameoperator, such as a dealer, pays out winning wagers with additionalchips based on the set of odds for the particular game. The dealercollects the customer's chips for losing wagers. The odds of each gameslightly favor the casino, so on average the casino wins and isprofitable.

Like many businesses, casinos wish to understand the habits of theircustomers. Some casinos have employees visually observe customer's gameplay, manually tracking the gaming and wagering habits of the particularcustomers. The information allows the casinos to select the number ofdifferent games that the casino will provide and to adequately staffthose games. The information also allows the casinos to select certaincustomers to receive complimentary benefits (“comps”) and to determinethe amount of comps a particular customer is to receive. The act ofgiving comps to a customer, commonly referred to as “comping,” producesa large amount of good will with the customers, encouraging customerloyalty and further wagering. Some casinos have attempted to partiallyautomate the tracking process, reading a customer “comp” card toidentify the customer. The actual gaming and wagering patterns of thecustomers are visually observed by casino personnel and manually enteredinto a computer to create a digitized copy of the customer's gaminghabits.

Similarly, casinos wish to track the efficiency of the casino and thecasino's employees. Such information allows the casino to make change toincrease the overall efficiency of the casino and of the employees,benefiting both the casino and customers. A typical method of trackingemployee efficiency is to manually count the number of hands ofblackjack dealt by a dealer over some time period. A change in an amountin a bank at the gaming table can also be manually determined andcombined with the count of the number of hands to determine a won/losspercentage for the dealer. The casino can use the information to takeappropriate action, such as rewarding an efficient dealer, or providingadditional training to an inefficient dealer.

The fast pace and large sums of money make casinos likely targets forcheating and stealing. Casinos employ a variety of security measures todiscourage cheating or stealing by both customers and employees. Forexample, surveillance cameras covering a gaming area or particulargaming table provide a live or taped video signal that securitypersonnel can closely examine. Additionally, or alternatively, “pitmanagers” can visually monitor the live play of a game at the gamingtable.

While some aspects of a casino's security system should be plainlyvisible as a deterrent, other aspects of the security should beunobtrusive to avoid detracting from the players' enjoyment of the gameand to prevent cheaters and thieves from avoiding detection.

The current methods of tracking have several drawbacks. The methodstypically depend on manual observation of a gaming table. Thus coverageis not comprehensive, and is limited to tracking a relatively smallnumber of games, customer's and employees. This problem is exacerbatedby a customer's ability to rapidly move between gaming tables. Acommonly known method for cheating customers to avoid detection is toswitch tables frequently. The tracking methods are also prone to errorsince the manual methods rely on human observers who can becomeinattentive or distracted. In one commonly known method of cheating thecasino, one member of a team will create a distraction while anothermember steals chips or swaps cards. These manual tracking methods arealso labor intensive, and thus costly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention includes a system for automaticallymonitoring playing and wagering of a game. In one illustratedembodiment, the system includes a card deck reader that automaticallyreads a respective symbol from each card in a deck of cards before afirst one of the cards is removed from the deck. The symbol identifies avalue of the card in terms of rank and suit, and can take the form of amachine-readable symbol, such as a bar code, area or matrix code orstacked code. In another aspect, the system does not decode the readsymbol until the respective card is dealt, to ensure security.

In another aspect, the system can include a chip tray reader thatautomatically images the contents of a chip tray. The systemperiodically determines the number and value of chips in the chip trayfrom the image, and compares the change in contents of the chip tray tothe outcome of game play to verify that the proper amounts have beenpaid out and collected.

In a further aspect, the system can include a table monitor thatautomatically images the activity or events occurring at a gaming table.The system periodically compares images of the gaming table to identifywagering, as well as the appearance, removal and position of cardsand/or other objects on the gaming table. The table monitoring systemcan be unobtrusively located in the chip tray.

In yet a further aspect, the invention includes a drop box thatautomatically verifies an amount and authenticity of a deposit andreconciles the deposit with a change in the contents of the chip tray.The drop box can image different portions of the deposited item,selecting appropriate lighting and resolutions to examine securityfeatures in the deposited item.

In another aspect, the system can employ some, or all of the componentsto monitor the gaming habits of players and the performance ofemployees. The system can detect suspect playing and wagering patternsthat may be prohibited. The system can also identify the win/losspercentage of the players and the dealer, as well as a number of otherstatistically relevant measures. Such measures can provide a casino orother gaming establishment with enhanced automated security, andautomated real-time accounting. The measures can additionally provide abasis for automatically allocating complimentary benefits to theplayers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a isometric view of a game played at a gaming table by adealer and players utilizing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a casino chip of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a monitoring system of the presentinvention for monitoring the gaming table of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a card shoe holding a deck of playingcards in a cradle utilizing the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of the faces of the deck of playing cardsshown in FIG. 4, staggered to expose an edge of each of the cards in thedeck.

FIG. 6 is a right side elevational view of the staggered deck of playingcards of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a card reader utilizing the presentinvention and including a card reading head and a drive mechanism tomove a linear imager of the card reading head.

FIG. 8 is a right side cross-sectional view of an alternative embodimentof a card reader utilizing the present invention including a cardreading head with an area imager.

FIG. 9 is a top, front isometric view of a chip tray utilizing thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a chip tray monitoring subsystem used inthe chip tray of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line 11—11 ofFIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line 12—12 ofFIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a composite field-of-view formed by anumber of discrete fields-of-view of respective color sensors of thechip tray monitoring subsystem of FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of a cash accounting andvalidation subsystem of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of the overall operation of thegaming table monitoring system of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the interaction of a number of softwaremodules implementing the functionality of FIG. 15.

FIGS. 17A and 17B is a flowchart of a method of the present inventionfor identifying wages and dealt cards.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method of the present invention forprocessing image data from card and chip readers.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method of the present invention for readinga deck of cards before any of the cards are dealt.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a method of the present invention fordynamically adjusting player strategy predictions.

FIG. 21 is a representation of a three-dimensional hue, intensity andsaturation (“HIS”) color space used in the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a representation in Cartesian coordinates of thethree-dimensional HIS color space of FIG. 24 used in the presentinvention.

FIGS. 23A and 23B is a flowchart of a method of the present inventionfor learning new chip patterns.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a method of the present invention for locatingchips in an image of the playing surface of the gaming table.

FIGS. 25A and 25B is a flowchart of a method of the present inventionfor recognizing the various denominations of chips based on the chippatterns.

FIGS. 26A and 26B is a flowchart of a method of the present inventionfor tracking the contents of a bank.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a method of the present invention for playtracking and coordination.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of a network of gaming tables.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram of the operation of a networked gaming tableof FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is a graphical representation of a display of simulation of anactual gaming environment on a monitor using the present invention.

FIG. 31 is an isometric view of a pair of die, forming the gaming piecesfor the gaming table.

FIG. 32 is an isometric view of a roulette wheel, forming the gamingpiece for the gaming table.

FIG. 33 is an isometric view of a wheel of fortune, forming the gamingpiece for the gaming table.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without these details. In other instances,well-known structures associated with computers, computer networks,readers and machine-vision have not been shown or described in detail toavoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments of theinvention.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notinterpret the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

This description initially presents a general explanation of gaming andgaming table monitoring components in the environment of a blackjacktable. A more specific description of each of the individual hardwarecomponents and the interaction of the hardware components follows. Adescription of the overall operation of the system follows the hardwarediscussion. A more specific discussion of the operation of the systemfollows, presented in terms of discrete software modules. Thepresentation concludes with a discussion of a network of gaming tables.

Blackjack Gaming

FIG. 1 shows a game of blackjack being played at a gaming table 10 by agame operator or dealer 12 employed by a gaming house or casino andcustomers or players 14, 16. While blackjack is used as an example, theteachings herein are generally applicable to a variety of wageringgames, such as craps, baccarat, poker, wheel of fortune, and roulette toname only a few.

During a game, the dealer 12 removes cards 19 from a card shoe 20. Thedealer 12 can individually draw the cards from the card shoe 20, or canremove an entire deck 18 of cards 19 from the card shoe 20 to deal byhand. Many players 14, 16 appreciate the experience of a game where thecards are dealt from a deck 18 held by the dealer 12, rather than beingindividually drawn from the card shoe 20.

The players 14, 16 place their respective wagers by placing a number ofwager chips 22 in wager circles 24 demarcated on a playing surface 26 ofthe gaming table 10. The chips 22 typically come in a variety ofdenominations, as is explained in detail below. Players 14, 16 areissued chips in exchange for currency or credit by the casino's tellers.Casino's typically require the use of chips 22 for wagering, rather thanactual currency. A player 14 can chose to play multiple hands by placingmore than one wager, as shown in FIG. 1. The players 14, 16 will oftenhave a reserve of chips 28 from which to place wagers.

After the players 14, 16 have placed an initial wager of chips 22 intheir respective wager circles 24, the dealer 12 deals each player twocards 30 face down, and deals herself one card 32 face down (“holecard”) 32 and one card 34 face up (“show card”) from the deck 18. Theplayers 14, 16 can accept additional cards (“hits”) from the deck 18 asthey attempt to reach a total card value of “21” without going over,where face cards count as ten points, and Aces can count as either oneor eleven points, at the cardholder's option. The dealer 12 alsoattempts to reach “21” without going over, although the rules typicallyrequire the dealer 12 to take a hit when holding a “soft 17.” Theplayers 14, 16 can vary their wagers (chips 22) after the initial cards30-34 are dealt based on their knowledge of their own hand and thedealer's face up card 34. For example, the player 14, 16 can “hit” or“stand” and may “double down” or “buy insurance.”

At the end of a “hand” or game, the dealer 12 collects the wager chips22 from losing players and pays out winnings in chips to the winningplayers. The winnings are calculated as a multiple of a set of odds forthe game and the amount of the wager chips 22. The losses are typicallythe amount of the wager chips 22. The dealer 12 places the collectedwager chips 22 or “take” from the losing players into a gaming tablebank that takes the form of a chip tray 36. The dealer 12 pays out thewinnings using the required number of chips 38 from the chip tray 36.The chip tray 36 generally consists of a number of wells, sized toreceive the chips 38 with different wells generally used to containdifferent value chips. Changes to the contents of the chip tray 36represent the winnings and loses of the casino (“house”) at the gamingtable 10. Thus, maintaining an accurate count of the number and value ofthe chips 38 in the chip tray 36 can assist the casino in managing itsoperations. Many casinos permit the dealer 12 to exchange chips foritems 41 of value such as currency or other items at the gaming table10. The dealer 12 deposits the item 41 of value into a drop box 40 at ornear the gaming table 10. Periodically, for example at the end of adealer's shift, the contents of the drop box 40 must be reconciled withcontents of the chip tray 36, to ascertain that the correct number andvalue of chips were distributed.

Chips

With reference to FIG. 2, the chips 38 are typically formed as circulardisks in a variety of denominations, the value of the chip beingrepresented by the color of the chip and by a numeric marking 42 on aface of the chip 38. The chips 38 also typically include an indication44 of the issuing casino. The chips 38 can include a marking 46 on anedge 48 of the chip 38 encoding information such as the issuing casino,the denomination, and/or a unique serial number. The markings 46comprise machine-readable symbols, such as bar code, area or matrixcodes or stacked codes. While visually shown in FIG. 2, the markings 46can be printed using an ink that is not typically visible to humans,such as an ink that is only visible in the infrared portion of theelectromagnetic spectrum. Machine-readable symbols to which theinvention is applicable and in which the invention may be embodied, maybe defined by or have properties that are optically, magnetically,electrically, electro-magnetically, mechanically, etc., contrasting,distinguishable, detectable, etc. To simplify further description, barcodes having optically contrasting stripes will be used with theunderstanding, however, that the invention is applicable tomachine-readable symbols other than the illustrated optical and otherthan contrasting stripes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,647 to Fishbine et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,081 to Fisher et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,110 toStorch et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,589 to Storch et al. disclosesystems for encoding information on chips and for determininginformation encoded in the color, geometry, size or patterns on a chip.

System Overview

As shown in FIG. 3, a monitoring system 50 is provided for tracking thewagering and play at a gaming table, such as the blackjack gaming table10. The monitoring system 50 includes a number of component subsystemscoupled together by a central processing unit (“CPU”) 52 for the gamingtable 10. The gaming table CPU 52 can take the form of a programmedgeneral purpose computer, and/or a specialized dedicated processor card.The gaming table CPU 52, typically includes a processor, memory,multiplex (“Mux”) card, video and Ethernet cards, power supply and animage acquisition card. While FIG. 3 shows a single centralized gamingtable CPU 52, the monitoring system 50 can take a more distributedapproach, locating dedicated processors in one or more of the individualsystem components. Alternatively, a common CPU could service a number ofgaming tables, each of the gaming tables having a set of individualcomponent subsystems. The gaming table CPU 52 communicates with externalcomputers and devices over a communications link 54 such as a local areanetwork (“LAN”) and/or a wide area network (“WAN”). The communicationslink 54 can be wired and/or wireless. The communications link can employInternet, or World Wide Web communications protocols, and can take theform of a proprietary extranet.

A play tracking subsystem 56 visually monitors activity on the playingsurface 26 of the gaming table 10. The play tracking subsystem 56 islocated in the chip tray 36, above the playing surface 26 of the gamingtable 10. A chip tray monitoring subsystem 58 monitors the contents ofthe chip tray 36. The chip tray monitoring subsystem 58 can be locatedin the chip tray 36. The playing surface 26 has an opening 60 forreceiving a lower portion of the chip tray 36, such that the chip traymonitoring subsystem 58 is positioned below the playing surface 26,although such positioning is not necessary to the function of thecomponent subsystem. A card verification subsystem 62 identifies each ofthe cards in the card deck 18. The card verification subsystem 62 islocated in the card shoe 20 (FIG. 1) on the playing surface 26 of thegaming table 10. A cash accounting and validation subsystem 64 monitorsthe contents of the drop box 40 (FIG. 1). These subsystems 56, 58, 62,64 are each described in detail below.

Card Shoe/Card Verification Subsystem

The card verification subsystem includes, as shown in FIG. 4, the cardshoe 20 with a housing 66 and a cradle 68 sized and dimensioned toreceive the card deck 18. A card support surface 70 of the housing 66 issloped with respect to a base 72, to hold the cards 19 of the card deck18 in the card shoe 20 are slightly shifted or staggered with respect toadjacent cards in the deck 18 (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) when the cardshoe 20 is on the horizontal playing surface 26 of the gaming table 10(FIG. 1).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a portion of each card 19 of the deck 18 isexposed when the deck 18 is in the cradle 68. The exposed portion may bean end portion 74 along an edge of the face 76 (i.e., surface bearingthe rank and suit markings) or the back 78 (FIG. 4) (i.e., surfacebearing a uniform marking for each card in the deck) of each of thecards 19 of the deck 18 depending on the orientation of the cards 19 inthe cradle 68. Alternatively, the exposed portion can be on one sideportion 80 along an edge of the face 76 or back 78 of the cards 19, ifthe cradle 68 is dimensioned to receive the deck of cards 18 in asideways orientation (not shown). A slope of approximately 30° issufficient to shift the cards 19 to expose the end portion 74 or sideportion 80.

The exposed portions each carry identifying information about the card,and/or the card deck 18. For example, the rank and suit markings on thefaces 76 of the cards can be exposed, which identify the value of eachcard 19 in the deck 18 in terms of rank and suit and which can beautomatically read. The cards 19 can bear other machine-readable symbolssuch as bar code, area or matrix code, or stacked code symbols selectedfrom respective symbologies to encode identifying information such asthe rank and suit of the card, a unique serial number, and/orinformation about the card deck 18. For example, the cards 18 can carrybar code symbols 81 at one of the end portions 74 on the faces 76 of thecards as shown in FIG. 5. Look-up tables or an algorithm can relate theunique serial number to other identifying information such as the rank,suit, casino, manufacturer of the card and/or card deck 18. Use of aproprietary symbology can enhance security and efficiency. Encryptioncan also enhance security, for example, encrypting the unique serialnumbers. The machine-readable symbols can also take advantage of errorcorrection, to discover and correct errors, as is generally known in thesymbology arts. While visibly shown in FIG. 5, the bar code symbols 81can be printed using an ink that is not typically visible to humans,such as an ink that is only visible in the infrared portion of theelectromagnetic spectrum.

The particular embodiment shown has a number of reading and securityadvantages over other embodiments. Printing the bar code symbol 81 ininvisible ink makes the bar code symbols 81 difficult to detect andread, and also makes the deck marking unobtrusive to the players 14, 16(FIG. 1). Printing the bar code symbol 81 on the face 76 of each card 19of the deck 18 makes it difficult for someone other than the cardholderto read, since the cardholder typically shields the face 76 of the card19 they hold from view to hide the rank and suit markings. Locating thebar code symbols 81 on the end portions 74 of the cards 19, makes iteasy to expose the bar code 81 on all of the cards 18 at the same time,with requiring a large amount of space in the card holder 20. This isparticularly true for the top and end portions 74, since playing cards18 are typically longer than wide. After play, the end portions 74 ofthe cards 19 of the deck 18 can be easily trimmed to remove the bar codesymbols 81, and the card deck 18 resold for reuse or as a souvenir.

The card verification subsystem 62 also includes, as shown in FIG. 7, acard reader 82 with a card reading head 84 and drive mechanism 86 toread information from the end portions 74 of each of the cards 19 (FIGS.5 and 6) while all of the cards 19 in the card deck 18 are in the cardshoe 20 (FIG. 1). The card reading head 84 includes a linearcharge-coupled device (“CCD”) array 88, although the card reading head84 can employ other scanning and imaging devices. For example, the cardreading head 84 can employ imaging tubes (e.g., Vidicon, Plumbicon), andother image capture devices. Image data from the linear CCD array 88passes to the gaming table CPU 52 (FIG. 3) for processing.

The drive mechanism 86 includes a motor 90, pulleys 92, and first andsecond drive belts 94 entrained on the pulleys 92 to couple the motor 90to the reading head 84. The linear CCD array 88 can continuously imagean area for the cards 19, or the placement of the card deck 18 in thecradle 68 can trigger a switch 96, that activates the motor 90 andlinear CCD array 88. Movement of the motor 90 causes the linear CCDarray 88 to oscillate between two positions along a pair of supportingrails 98 to move a field-of-view 100 of the linear CCD array 88 betweenan end portion 74 of a top card 102 in the deck 18 and an end portion 74of a bottom or last card 104 in the deck (FIGS. 5 and 6). The cardreader 82 is thus capable of reading information from every card in thedeck 18 in the order the cards are positioned in the deck 18, before anycards are removed. This allows the dealer 12 to remove the entire deck18 at one time and deal by hand, enhancing the gaming environment whilestill allowing the monitoring system 50 (FIG. 3) to know the order thatthe card 18 should appear as the cards 18 are dealt by the dealer 12during game play. The card verification subsystem 62 can employ otherdrive mechanisms, for example a direct drive (not shown).

FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment under the present inventionemploying a two-dimensional CCD array 106 in the card reading head 84.This alternative embodiment, and those alternative embodiments and otheralternatives described herein, are substantially similar to previouslydescribed embodiments, and common acts and structures are identified bythe same reference numbers. Only significant differences in operationand structure are described in detail below.

The two-dimensional CCD array 106 has a field-of-view 108 that iscapable of imaging an area. The two-dimensional CCD array is positionedin the housing 66 such that the field-of-view 108 encompasses theexposed end portions 74 of each of the cards in the deck 18 at a sametime, as the cards 19 are positioned on the sloped card support surface70 of the card shoe 20. Thus, the alternative embodiment of FIG. 8eliminates the drive mechanism 86 of FIG. 7.

Chip Tray/Chip Tray Monitoring Subsystem

The chip tray 36 is shown in FIG. 9 as including upper and lowerportions 110, 112, respectively, and a shelf 114 separating the upperand lower portions 110, 112. The upper portion 110 includes a chipcarrying surface 116 having a number of wells 118 sized and dimensionedto accept the chips 38 (FIG. 1). A side wall 120 extends downwardly fromthe chip carrying surface 116 and thereabout to form a four-sidedenclosure that contains the optical and electrical components of theplay tracking and chip tray monitoring subsystems 56, 58, respectively.When in use on a gaming table 10, a front portion 122 of the side wall120 faces the players 14, 16 and a rear portion 124 of the side wall 120faces the dealer 12 (FIG. 1). The front portion 122 of the side wall 120is slightly higher than the rear portion 124, and the chip carryingsurface 116 slopes slightly downward from the front to rear.

A window 126 runs lengthwise along a bottom of each of the wells 118.Alternatively, the window 126 can run along a side of the well 118. Thewindow 126 includes a tinted shield 128 that protects the inner opticaland electrical elements of the play tracking and chip tray monitoringsubsystems 56, 58 from view by the players 14, 16 and providesenvironmental protection for the components of the subsystems 56, 58.

FIGS. 10-12 show the components of the chip tray monitoring subsystem 58mounted within the enclosure formed by the side wall of the chip tray 36including a chip reader 130 having a chip reading head 132 and a drivemechanism 134. The chip reading head 132 includes a linear color CMOSsensor 136, although the chip reading head 132 can employ other imagecapture devices, such as those previously described. The color CMOSsensors 136 permit the chip tray monitoring subsystem 58 to work withexisting chips and chip patterns, providing a significant advantage tothe casino. The linear color CMOS sensor 136 is sensitive to the lightpassing through the tinted shields 128 in the wells 118 of the chip tray36 (FIG. 9).

The drive mechanism 134 includes a motor 138, pulleys 140 and a pair ofdrive belts 142 coupling the motor 138 to the linear CMOS sensor 136 byway of the pulleys. The rotational drive of the motor 138 causes thelinear CMOS sensor 136 to oscillate along a linear rail 144 extendingbetween a left side 146 and a right side 148 of side wall 120 of thechip tray 36, successively aligning the linear CMOS sensor 136 with eachof the windows 126 of the chip tray wells 118 (FIG. 9). The linear CMOSsensor 136 thus images the chips 38 in each of the wells 118 in the chiptray 36. Chip tray image data from the linear CMOS sensor 136 passes tothe game table CPU 52 (FIG. 3) for processing. The chip tray monitoringsubsystem 58 can include an illumination source such as light emittingdiode (“LED”) 150 to illuminate the chips 38 through the windows 126, orcan rely on ambient lighting. The light emitting diode (“LED”) 150 ismounted to travel with the linear CMOS sensor 136, thus reducing theamount of power required to illuminate the chips 38.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the chip reading head 132includes a two-dimensional CMOS sensor array, having a field-of-viewcovering the each of the windows 126. The two-dimensional CMOS sensorarray eliminates the need for the drive mechanism 134. In a furtheralternative (not shown), the chip reading head 132 includes atwo-dimensional CMOS sensor array having a field-of-view covering atleast two of the windows 126, but less than all of the windows 126.

Chip Tray/Play Tracking Subsystem

The play tracking subsystem 56 is shown in FIG. 10 as including aplaying surface imager 152, positioned within the enclosure formed bythe side wall 120 of the chip tray 36 to provide an approximately 180°view of the playing surface 26 in front of the chip tray 36. In thisembodiment, the playing surface imager 152 consists of nine area CMOScolor sensors C₁-C₉, although the playing surface imager 152 can employa lesser or greater number of sensors. Each of the CMOS color sensorsC₁-C₉ have a respective field-of-view 154. The playing surface imager152 can employ other image capture devices, although area CMOS colorsensors C₁-C₉ are particular suitable for imaging the chips 38 and cardsof the deck 18 on the playing surface 26 of the gaming table 10, such aswager chips 22 and played cards 30-34. The CMOS color sensors C₁-C₉ caneach be mounted within a respective aperture 156 formed in the frontportion 122 of the side wall 120, below the shelf 114, or can be alignedwith a respective one of the apertures 156. The CMOS color sensors C₁-C₉provide a low angle view of the playing surface 26 (approximately 15°).This permits the CMOS color sensors C₁-C₉ to discern the height of thestacks of chips 22 for each of the players 14, 16, including the edgesof individual chips, and the any cards appearing on the playing surface30-34. The low angle also reduces the effects of shadows, typicallyassociated with overhead lighting. The color sensors C₁-C₉ produce tableimage data for processing by the gaming table CPU 52 (FIG. 3) forprocessing.

With reference to FIG. 13, the composite field-of-view formed from therespective fields-of-view 154 of the nine CMOS color sensors C₁-C₉,permits the play tracking subsystem 56 to image substantially the entireplaying surface 26 in front of the chip tray 36. Thus, the CMOS colorsensors C₁-C₉ image the wager chips 22 and the played cards 30-34 of theplayers 14, 16 and dealer 12. By imaging at successive intervals, theplay tracking subsystem 56 can detect the appearance or removal of acard 30-34 or chip 22.

As discussed above and as shown in FIG. 3, an opening 60 in the playingsurface 26 of the gaming table 10 can receive the chip tray 36, suchthat the upper portion 110 extends above the playing surface and thelower portion 1 12 extends below the plaing surface of the gaming table10. The shelf 114 of the chip tray 36 is positioned spaced above theplaying surface 26. Positioning the area CMOS color sensors C₁-C₉ belowthe shelf 114 shields the color sensors C₁-C₉ or apertures 156 from thefield-of-view of the players' 14, 16 when the chip tray 36 is on thegaming table 10. The shelf 114 also eliminates glare from overheadlight, enhancing the image capturing ability of the CMOS color sensorsC₁-C₉.

Drop Box/Cash Accounting and Validation Subsystem

The drop box 40 includes the cash accounting and validation subsystem 64(FIG. 3) to authenticate items 41 of value inserted into the drop box,such as currency and chips, and to automatically keep track of thedenomination or value of those items 41. The cash accounting andvalidation subsystem 64 analyzes images of the items 41 of value toauthenticate the items 41 based on certain features, such as securityfeatures, and to determine the denomination of the items 41.

FIG. 14 shows the hardware components of the cash accounting andvalidation subsystem 64, including an image sensor 158 and a dedicatedprocessor/controller printed circuit board (“PCB”) 160 for processingthe image pixel data from the image sensor 158. The image sensor 158 isa linear scan sensor that acquires high-resolution images selectedportions of the item 41 of value. The resolution of the image can be setaccording to the particular feature or portion of the item 41 beingimaged. Similarly, the illumination characteristics can also be setaccording to the particular feature or portion of the item 41. Thispermits each feature or portion to be correctly analyzed to authenticatethe item of value. The image sensor 158 can image each security featurein the item 41, or only select features. The image sensor 158 can imageentire features or portions of features. For example, only a portion ofmicro-print needs to be imaged to verify the authenticity of amicro-print feature. The cash accounting and validation subsystem 64 mayalter the choice of features or portions to make forging more difficult.

A digital signal processor central processing unit (“DSP CPU”) 162,(separate from the gaming table CPU 52) controls the operation of theprocessor/controller PCB 160. The processor/controller PCB 160 iscoupled to the image sensor 158 to receive the image pixel data inresponse to a timing synchronization signal produced by atiming/synchronization signal generator 164. A digitizer/processor 166receives the image pixel data from the image sensor 158 and producesimage data that is buffered in an image data synchronization buffer 168.The image data synchronization buffer 168 pass the image data throughdirect memory access to an image storage random access memory (“RAM”)170.

A processor bus 172 provides communications between the DSP CPU 162 anda number of memories, including the image storage RAM 170, acode/variable RAM 174 and a code/model flash ROM 176. The processor bus172 also provides communications between the DSP CPU 162 and a number ofinput/output (“I/O”) ports, including a machine control I/O 178, anoperations communications port 180 and a diagnostics communication port182. The machine control I/O 178 can control the position of the imagesensor 158 with respect to the item 41 of value, for example,controlling a drive mechanism (not shown) that moves either the imagesensor 158, the item 41 of value, or both.

The processor/controller PCB 160 may include additional components, ormay eliminate some of the described components as will be recognized bythose skilled in the art.

System Operation Overview

The overall operation of a monitoring system 50 used in the illustrateembodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 15 as set out by discretefunctions. The functions can be implemented in software, as described inthe software sections below. A table monitoring logic function 302serves as the central element of the system, receiving data from thevarious other functions. The table monitoring logic 302 uses the datafrom the other components to verify game play, check for dealer errors,and provide data for employee and player analysis, as well as forreporting. The table monitoring logic 302 is driven by game eventsoccurring at the gaming table 10 (i.e., activity at the gaming tablesuch as the placing of wagers, dealing of cards, splitting of cardhands, etc.).

A card verification function 304 reads identifying information fromevery card in the deck 18 prior to any of the cards being removed fromthe card shoe 20, and verifies that the deck 18 has not been tampered.The identifying information can identify every card 18 by rank and suit.The identifying information can employ a unique identifier, such as aunique serial number encoded in the machine-readable symbol 81 (FIG. 5),that provides access to the rank and suit through a look-up table oralgorithm. Card verification 304 provides card identifying informationto the table monitoring logic 302.

A chip tray monitoring function 306 continually monitors the chips 38 inthe chip tray 36. Chip tray monitoring 306 provides a measure of thechip tray contents (i.e., counts and values of all chips 38 in the chiptray) to the table monitoring logic 302. The chip tray monitoring 306can provide notice to the casino when a chip tray 36 at a particular oneof the gaming tables 10 is running low, to allow additional chips to bedelivered to the gaming table.

A play tracking function 308 monitors the activity on the playingsurface 26 of the gaming table 10. Play tracking 308 continuallydetermines the player's wager chips 22, tracks the appearance, removaland position of cards 30-34 on the playing surface 26, and otherwisedetermines the occurrence of other game events. The game events are thestimuli that drive the operation of the monitoring system 50, includingthe table monitoring logic 302. Play tracking 308 provides wager andcard appearance information to the table monitoring logic 302, as wellas notice of the occurrence and identity of other game events.

A cash box processing function 310 authenticates items 41 of valueplaced in the drop box 40, and determines the denomination of thoseitems 41, including chips, currency, and other items of value. Thereference to “cash” is simply for convenience and is not meant to limitthe claims or description. The cash box processing function 310 providescash value data to the table monitoring logic 302.

A player analysis function 312 receives data from the table monitoringlogic 302, and checks to determine if there are statistical signs ofprohibited player strategies, such as: card counting, knowledge of thetop card; knowledge of the hole card; bet progressions; shuffletracking; and chasing of Aces. The player analysis 312 also builds aprofile of the players 14, 16.

To analyze the player strategy, the gaming table CPU 52 can compare aplayer's decision based on the player's knowledge of his own player heldcards 30 as well as any other face up played cards 30 on the gamingtable (FIG. 1) and with assumed knowledge of at least one other card,against a table of decisions the would be considered correct for a givenstrategy. The correct decision is constantly updated based on the dealtcards since the correct decision requires a knowledge of the cardspresently held by the player. For example, under a “perfect” strategy,the monitoring system 50 would assume the player 14 knew the cards heldby the player 14, the face up card 34 of the dealer 12, and the value ofthe next (“top”) card in the deck 18 before the next card is dealt. Themonitoring system 50 accumulates a record of the player's performanceunder each strategy used by the system for analysis purposes. Where theplayer's record exceeds some statistically reasonable or meaningfulexpectation, the monitoring system 50 predicts that the player 14 isemploying one of the prohibited strategies. The monitoring system 50provides the prediction to casino personnel, such as the dealer 12. Asshown in FIG. 20, the monitoring system 50 may continue to track theplayer 14, making predictions, and comparing the predictions to previouspredictions. By analyzing the history of predictions, the monitoringsystem 50 can determine how accurate the predictions are, and change thepoint at which a prediction is made. For example, the monitoring system50 can adjust the number of hands required before making a prediction,or adjust the amount of statistical aberration (i.e., statisticallymeaningful) data required before making a prediction.

An employee analysis function 314 receives data from the tablemonitoring logic 302, and analyzes the data for the employee dealer 12efficiency, performance and attendance.

A report function 316 receives data from the table monitoring logic 302,and analysis from the player and employee analysis 312, 314,respectively. The report function 316 generates appropriate reportsregarding the playing habits of the players 14, 16 and about theperformance and efficiency of the employee dealer 12. Reports can coverall aspects of the gaming, including financial reports, statisticalreports based on player profiles, hum an resources reports based onemployee data and marketing reports.

Software Overview

A software system 350 for implementing the above described functionalityis shown in FIG. 16. The system 350 includes a number of discretesoftware modules and hardware devices, that interact with the variouscomponents of the respective subsystems 56, 58, 62, 64 to acquire data,and in some cases to interpret or analyze the data and/or control theoperation of the components. The software modules and the varioushardware devices monitor and analyze the gaming activity at a singlegaming table 10.

A play tracking and coordination software module 800 acts as the focus,receiving data and signals from the other software modules, including:an identify wagers software module 400; an identify dealt cards softwaremodule 450; a card order reading software module 500; a bent cardanalysis software module 550; a tray analysis software module 600; an da bank inventory tracker software module 700. The play tracking andcoordination software module 800 can also receive input from a keypad184, output game data 186, and produce alerts 188. Game events drive theplay tracking and coordination module 800, which implement s the tablemonitoring logic function 302 (FIG. 15), and thus controls the overalloperation of the monitoring system 50.

The software system 350 monitors all events occurring at the blackjackgaming table 10 during the playing of the game and outputs statusinformation to an on-line data base for immediate review and/or laterreview. The system 350 runs on a hardware platform that provides imagesof several different areas on the gaming table 10. The analysis of theseimages allows the system 350 to track the progress of the game.

Before play begins, the dealer 12 places a newly shuffled deck 18 ofplaying cards 19 into the card shoe 20 (FIG. 1), to read the bar codesymbols 81 from the edge 74 of each of the playing cards 19 (FIG. 5)that encode the identifying information for the cards. The bar codesymbols 81 contains information regarding the rank and suit of each ofthe cards 19 in the deck 18, among other information. The bar codedinformation is held in memory and not decoded until the cards are dealt.This ensures that the system 350 will have no prior knowledge about theorder of the cards that would yield an unfair advantage to either thehouse or the players 14, 16. Only after the play tracking subsystem 56detects a card being dealt (i.e., a new card landing on the playingsurface 26) is the bar code symbol 81 for the card decoded. The bar codedata is also decrypted, if necessary. In an alternative embodiment, thebar code symbol 81 can be decoded before the card is dealt, if theinformation is not decrypted or otherwise made available to themonitoring system 50.

As play begins, the components of the subsystems 56, 58, 62, 64 (FIG. 3)continuously acquire images of the gaming table 10. For each image thatis centered on one of the wager circles 24 (FIG. 1), the area around thewager circle 24 is compared to the same area in a previous image. If adifference is detected, it is assumed that a wager has been placed andthe player's position in wager chips 22 or equivalent value is noted.For each image that has a view of the dealer position (i.e., area infront of chip tray 36 and behind demarcation), a similar comparison witha previous image detects the presence of the dealer's cards 32, 34 (FIG.1). Once the dealer's cards 32, 34 are detected, it is assumed that allwagers are final, and the most recent images containing wagers chips 22are saved for processing. The system 350 is not slowed by this processsince the detection processing on each image takes approximately thesame amount of time as the acquisition of the next image.

At this time, the imaging of the chips 38 of the chip tray 36 isinitiated since the contents of the tray 36 should be static until thecurrent play round is over. The imaging will take some time to complete,and the completed image is stored until the round is finished when CPUtime is available for the processing of the completed image.

Once play has begun, images of active player positions, determined bythe previous detection of wager chips 22, are scanned for the presenceof new cards. Once a hit is detected at a particular player position(i.e., an area proximate a player's wager circle 24), the cardinformation for the newly played card is decrypted and the current valueof the player's hand is determined. At this point, the value of allprevious hands are examined to determine if the detected hit pattern isconsistent with the card sequence up to this point. If the system 350determines that the card sequence is valid, the accumulated eventinformation is output to various reporting applications.

Since the actual card sequence may have been altered, eitheraccidentally or intentionally after the deck 18 was read, it is possiblethat the hit pattern and the card sequence may not agree. This wouldoccur if a card was dropped and placed in a discard rack, or if a newcard were placed in the deck. If this occurs, the system 350 willcontinue to accumulate data as new cards are played, and the system 350will attempt to resynchronize by shifting the assumed card sequenceuntil it matches the hit pattern. Once this has been accomplished, theaccumulated data is output.

When the dealer 12 finishes the play round, the stored images for thewager chips 22 and the chip tray 36 are analyzed to determine the dollaramounts that should have been exchanged on that round. At this point,all accumulated information is output to the reporting applications andthe software system 350 scans for the start of a next round of play.

Thus, the monitoring system 50 allows casino management to trackstatistical information on possible player cheating, win/loss rates, andemployee productivity in real-time. This is done in a discrete mannerthat does not interfere with the normal course of play. The individualsoftware modules are discussed in detail below.

While FIG. 16 sets out the software modules as discrete elements, thesoftware can be written as a single program, or in modules other thanthose described. Additionally, the instructions can be encoded in thesystem as hardware or firmware. In the illustrated system, the gamingtable CPU 52 (FIG. 3) executes the modules other than the bank inventorytracker software module 700. The dedicated DSP CPU 160 (FIG. 14)executes the bank inventory tracker module 700. As described above,other more centralized or distributed arrangements are possible.

Identify Wagers Software Module/Identify Dealt Cards Software Module

The identify wagers software module 400 and the identify dealt cardssoftware module 450 cooperate with the play tracking subsystem 56 (FIG.3) to track and identify the occurrence of game events on the playingsurface 26 of the gaming table 10 (FIG. 1). Thus, the identify wagerssoftware module 400 and the identify dealt cards software module 450perform the play tracking function 308 (FIG. 15), recognizing thewagering and playing activity at the gaming table 10 (FIG. 1).

FIGS. 17A and 17B show a method of identifying wager chips 22 and dealtcards 30-34. The gaming table CPU 52 enters the routine 400 at an entrystep 402. The gaming table CPU 52 determines the source of the imagedata in step 404. If the source of the event is not the CMOS colorsensors C₁-C₉, the gaming table CPU 52 in step 406 processes the imagedata (see description of FIG. 18, below), and terminates the routine 400at a Done step 408. If the source is the CMOS color sensors C₁-C₉, thegaming table CPU 52 determines if a player position is “Idle” in a step410. The player position is “Idle” if no wager chips 22 are detected atthe player position, including the wager circles 24.

If the gaming table CPU 52 determines that the player position is “Idle”in step 410, the gaming table CPU 52 compares the wager circle 24 in thepresent image to the wager circle 24 in last image, in a step 412. Instep 414, the gaming table CPU 52 determines from the comparison whetherwager chips 22 are present. If wager chips 22 are present, the gamingtable CPU 52 notes the presence of one or more wager chips 22 for theplayer position in step 416, and passes control to step 418. If a wager22 is not present, the gaming table CPU 52 pass control directly to step418 to determine whether the position is a last player position. If theposition is a last player position, the routine 400 terminates at theDone step 408. If other player positions exist, the gaming table CPU 52scans the dealer position of dealer 12 for cards in a step 420. If instep 422, the gaming table CPU 52 does not locate cards at the dealer 12positions, the gaming table CPU 52 starts acquisitions for all potentialplayers in step 424. Otherwise the gaming table CPU 52 sets the playerposition as “Active” in step 426, and starts the acquisition of all“Active” player positions and the dealer position in step 428. Theroutine 400 terminates at the Done step 408.

If the player position is not “Idle,” the gaming table CPU 52 scans fora hit by one of the players 14, 16 (FIG. 1) in step 430. (The playerposition is not “Idle” if wager chips 22 are located at the playerposition.) If the gaming table CPU 52 detects a hit in step 432, thegaming table CPU 52 processes the new card in step 434, and determinesif the new card is the first hit for the player 14, 16 in step 436. Ifin step 436, the gaming table CPU 52 determines that the new card is thefirst hit for the player 14, 16, the gaming table CPU 52 outputsaccumulated data for any previous player in step 438, and passes controlto step 440. If the gaming table CPU 52 does not detect a hit in step432, control passes directly to step 440. If the new card is not thefirst hit for the player, the gaming table CPU 52 passes controldirectly to the step 440, where the CPU 52 determines whether the playerposition is a last “Active” player position. If the gaming table CPU 52determines that the player position is a last “Active” player position,the gaming table CPU 52 terminates the routine 400 at the Done step 408.Otherwise, the gaming table CPU 52 scans the image data for a dealer hitin step 442. In step 444, the gaming table CPU 52 determines whether thedealer 12 took a hit from the scanned image data. If the gaming tableCPU 52 determines that the dealer 12 took a hit, the CPU 52 analyzes thewager chips 22 from the images at the start of the round in step 446,and starts acquisitions for all potential player positions in step 448.If the gaming table CPU 52 determines that the dealer 12 did not take ahit in step 444, control passes directly to the step 448 where themonitoring system 50 starts acquisitions for all player positions. Theroutine 400 terminates at the Done step 408.

FIG. 18 shows a software routine 450 of processing the image datareferred to as the step 406 in FIGS. 17A and 17B, above. The gamingtable CPU 52 enters the routine 450 at an entry step 452. In step 454,the gaming table CPU 52 determines if the image data is from the cardreader 82. If the image data is not from the card reader 82 (FIG. 7),the gaming table CPU 52 determines that the image data must be from thechip reader 130 (FIGS. 10-12) of the chip tray 36 and stores the imagedata to memory for later processing in step 456. The routine 450terminates at a Done step 458. If the image data is from the card reader82, the gaming table CPU 52 processes the image data in step 460 (seedescription of FIG. 19, below).

In step 462, the gaming table CPU 52 determines whether the processingis successful. If processing is successful, the gaming table CPU 52outputs a GO command in step 464. If the processing is not successful,the gaming table CPU 52 checks a failure code in step 466. In step 468,the gaming table CPU 52 determines whether the gaming table CPU 52should make another attempt at processing the image, based on thefailure code. If the gaming table CPU 52 determines that another shouldbe made, the gaming table CPU 52 outputs a RETRY command in step 470 andterminates the routine 450 at the Done step 458. If not, the gamingtable CPU 52 outputs a STOP command in step 472 and terminates theroutine 450 at the Done step 458.

Card Order Reading Software Module

As shown in FIG. 16, a card order reading software module 500 interactswith the hardware components of the card verification subsystem 62 (FIG.3) to perform the card verification function 304 (FIG. 15) by readingand verifying the cards in the card deck 18 before a first card iswithdrawn from the card shoe 20 (FIG. 1).

A method of implementing the card order reading software module 500 isshown in FIG. 19. The card order reading module 500 will typicallyexecute after the dealer 12 shuffles the card deck 18 and places theshuffled deck in the card shoe 20. The structure of the card shoe 20aligns the cards in an offset fashion to expose at least the end portion74 of the card bearing identifying information, in the form of themachine-readable symbol 81. As noted above, the bar code symbol 81 canalternatively be an area or matrix code, or stacked code selected from asymbology. The symbol can also be any other markings on the card,including the rank and suit of the card as is normally printed on thecard face 76. In some instances, the card deck 18 would not have to beshuffled and the card reading head 84 would not have to be located inthe card shoe 20.

The gaming table CPU 52 acquires an image of the coded object in step502. For example, the linear CCD array 88 of the card reading head 84passes across each of the cards in the deck 18, capturing an image ofthe bar code symbols 81 printed the cards 19. In step 504, the gamingtable CPU 52 locates the deck of cards 18 within the image. In step 506,the gaming table CPU 52 compares the number of located cards 19 in theimage to the expected number of cards in the deck 18 to determinewhether all of the cards in the deck 18 are present. If one or morecards are missing, control returns to step 502, to acquire anotherimage. The card reader 82 can prompt the dealer 12 to realign the carddeck 18, if necessary. If all of the playing cards 19 in the deck 18 arepresent, the gaming table CPU 52 reads the symbols 81 and produces raw,coded data bits in step 508. In step 510, the gaming table CPU 52decodes the raw, coded data. The gaming table CPU 52 determines whetherall of the bar code symbols 81 can be decoded in step 512. The decodingalgorithm can include error checking. For example, the algorithm may beable to detect up to 32-bit errors and correct up to 16-bit errors.Other error checking schemes are possible. Control returns to step 502if all of the bar code symbols 81 can not be decoded. The gaming tableCPU 52 produces data 514 if all of the bar code symbols 81 can bedecoded.

Bent Card Analysis Software Module

As shown in FIG. 16, a bent card analysis software module 550 interactswith the hardware components of the card verification subsystem 62 (FIG.3) to perform the card verification function 304 (FIG. 18) by readingand verifying the cards 19 in the card deck 18 before any card iswithdrawn from the card shoe 20.

The card reader 82 also checks the cards for crimping. Crimping involvesmarking the cards 19 by bending or folding the card toward or away fromthe face 76 to identify the card's relative rank. For example, cardshaving a value of ten, such as tens and face cards, can be bent upward.Additionally, or alternatively, cards of relatively low rank, such astwo through five, are bent downward. The convexity or concavity in thecard is subtle to avoid detection, but sufficiently pronounced to beperceptible by the player who has bent the card 19.

Tray Analysis Software Module

As shown in FIG. 16, a tray analysis software module 600 interacts withthe hardware components of the chip tray monitoring subsystem 58 (FIG.3) to perform the chip tray monitoring function 306 (FIG. 15) bymonitoring the chips 38 in the chip tray 36, either continually orperiodically.

The tray analysis software module 600 relies on a color spacerepresentation of color. FIG. 21 shows a hue, saturation and intensity(“HIS”) color space 602. In the color space 602, “H” 604 represents thehue expressed as an angle between 0° and 360°, the “S” axis 606corresponds to level of saturation expressed as a value from 0 to 1, andthe “I” axis 608 corresponds to intensity expressed as a value from 0 to255. FIG. 22 shows an “XYZ” color space 610 equivalent to the HIS colorspace 602 of FIG. 21. The XYZ color space 610 is a Cartesianrepresentation of the HIS color space, having coordinates with a rangeof −1 to 1. The Cartesian coordinates of the XYZ color space 610 allowthe differences between colors to be measured as a three-dimensionaldistance, permitting relatively easy comparisons of colors usingstandard vector algebra.

FIGS. 23-25 show methods of implementing the software, including methodsfor learning new chip patterns (FIGS. 23A and 23B), locating chips in animage of the playing surface of the gaming table (FIG. 24), andrecognizing the various denominations of chips based on the chippatterns (FIGS. 25A and 25B).

Learning New Chip Patterns

In FIGS. 23A and 23B, the gaming table CPU 52 starts a training routine612, at step 614, to add new chip patterns (e.g., a band of coloredmarkings around the edge of the chip) to a set of recognizable chippatterns stored in a memory. The gaming table CPU 52 can start thetraining routine 612 each time the casino wishes to add a chip patternto its set of recognizable chip patterns. The new chip pattern can, forexample, represent a new chip design for the casino, a new denominationof chips, or a chip from another casino that the first casino wishes tohonor, or otherwise identify.

In step 616, the gaming table CPU 52 receives a region-of-interest(“ROI”) of an input image, consisting of an edge-on view of the chip.The gaming table CPU 52 can receive the image data from the gaming tableCPU 52, or the image data can come from a system dedicated to imagingnew chips. In step 618, the gaming table CPU 52 takes an average of thecolor information for each column of a color pattern carried on the edge48 (FIG. 2) of the chip 38, and creates a one-dimensional arrayrepresentation or profile of the color pattern.

The CPU 52 traverses the profile, searching for changes in the colorusing a color distance operator. To search the profile, the gaming tableCPU 52 sets an index to a first entry in step 620, and calculates thecolor distance between the current entry and the entry at an offset instep 622. The color distance operator returns a scalar value that is theproviding a chip tray carrying at least one imager. linear distancebetween two colors in a three dimensional color space (i.e., the squareroot of the sum of the squares of the differences in each color plane).If the gaming table CPU 52 detects a change in the color greater than apredefined threshold in step 624, the gaming table CPU 52 calculates thelength and average color for the preceding color segment in step 626. Ifthe length exceeds a threshold length in step 628, the gaming table CPU52 stores the length and average color in step 630. The gaming table CPU52 increments the index in step 632, and repeats the steps until thegaming table CPU 52 detects an end of line in step 634, concluding theroutine 612 at step 636. Optionally, the gaming table CPU 52 can comparethe color band information to ensure that the new chip has a uniquecolor scheme.

Locating Chip Positions

In FIG. 24, the gaming table CPU 52 starts a chip locating routine 638,at step 640, to locate one of the wager chips 22 in the color image ofthe gaming table 10. The gaming table CPU 52 acquires a new color imagein step 642, and calculates the difference between the new color imageand a previous color image in step 644. The table CPU 52 uses intensityplanes of the color images, subtracting each successive image from thebackground image to obtain a gray level image. In step 646, the gamingtable CPU 52 analyzes the difference image to locate areas of differenceor “blobs.” Higher gray level values indicate points of greaterdifference between color images. In step 648, the gaming table CPU 52applies a threshold to the difference image, and runs a morphological orblob algorithm. The resulting binary image determines the bounding boxesaround the areas of significant difference. These boxes will contain anywager chips 22 in the field-of-view but may also contains areas ofdifference having no associated chips. In step 650, the gaming table CPU52 performs chip recognition within the bounding box, and terminatesexecution in step 652.

Recognizing Chips

In FIGS. 25A and 25B, the gaming table CPU 52 starts a chip recognitionroutine 654, at step 656, to determine a number and total value of wagerchips 22 wagered, from the color image of the gaming table 10.

In step 658, the gaming table CPU 52 starts at the first row and columnof the ROI that may contain wager chips 22 and scans across the rowlooking for changes in color. In step 660, the gaming table CPU 52calculates the color distance between a current pixel and an offsetpixel, using the color distance operator described above. In step 662,the gaming table CPU 52 compares the color distance to a threshold valueto detect a change in color. If the gaming table CPU 52 detects a changein color (i.e., color distance>threshold), the gaming table CPU 52calculates the average color and length of the segment in step 664.

In step 666, the gaming table CPU 52 compares the length and color ofeach color segment to a list of segments for each of the recognizablechip patterns stored in memory. If the gaming table CPU 52 finds a matchin step 668, the gaming table CPU 52 increments a match count for thewager chip 22 in step 670. The gaming table CPU 52 increments the columnindex in step 672, and repeats the process until the gaming table CPU 52detects an end of the column in step 674. The gaming table CPU 52 storesthe value of the best match along the row into an array in step 676. Thegaming table CPU 52 increments a row index in step 678, and repeats theprocess until the gaming table CPU 52 detects an end of the rows in step680. At the end of the each row, the value of the chip with the highestmatch count is stored in the array, using the row as an index into thearray. Depending on the resolution of the image, each wager chip 22 isrepresented by one or more rows.

In step 682, the gaming table CPU 52 scans the array of values andgroups the rows with equal values into segments of approximately thesame height as a wager chip 22. This permits the gaming table CPU 52 todetermine the number and total value of the wager chips 22 in the image.The number and total value of the wager chips 22 are reported in step684, and the routine 654 terminates at step 686.

Bank Inventory Tracker Software Module

As shown in FIG. 16, the bank inventory tracker software module 700interacts with the hardware elements of the cash accounting andverification subsystem 64 (FIG. 3) to perform the cash box processingfunction 310 (FIG. 15) by authenticating items 41 of value placed in thedrop box 40 (FIG. 1), and determining the denomination of those items,including chips, currency, and other items of value. Theprocessor/controller PCB 160 (FIG. 14) executes the bank inventorytracker software module 700.

FIGS. 26A and 26B show the image sensor 158 (FIG. 14) imaging a portionof the item 41 of value (FIG. 1) in step 702 (e.g., a bill). The DSP CPU162 processes the image pixel data, and compares the resulting imagedata with image data corresponding to a number of known items of valueto identify a type for the item 41 of value. In step 704, theprocessor/controller DSP CPU 162 branches control based on the type, toperform checking appropriate for the particular type of item 41.

If the DSP CPU 162 recognizes the item as U.S. currency, the DSP CPU 162first determines an orientation of the item 41 in step 706, anddetermines the denomination and series of the item 41 in step 708. Thedenomination represents the value or amount of the item 41. The seriesidentifies the date that the item 41 was printed or the group to whichthe item 41 belongs. The series can indicate presence or absence ofcertain security features in the item 41, for example micro-printing, ora security thread or band. The DSP CPU 162 can also use the series tohelp verify a serial number carried by the item 41. In step 710, the DSPCPU 162 determines whether the image sensor 158 is imaging a front or aback of the item 41. If image sensor 158 is imaging the front of theitem 41, the image sensor 158 reads a serial number printed on the frontof the item 41 in step 712.

In step 714, the image sensor 158 images other portions of the item 41using varying levels and types of illumination, as well as varyinglevels of resolution. The portions of the item 41 are generally selectedfor their inclusion of security features. While the location of thesesecurity features for each item type are defined in a memory, the DSPCPU 162 can randomly or pseudo-randomly vary the particular securityfeatures examined and/or the portions of the security features that itexamines to make forgery more difficult. For example, the DSP CPU 162can select the portion of the item 41, the security feature, or theportion of the security feature from a list of suitable portions,security features or portions of security features. The list can bespecific to the item type, for example, a one list for U.S. currency andanother list for a foreign currency. The selection can be truly random,or can simply alternate among a number of defined portions to appearrandom to a counterfeiter. The DSP CPU 162 selects the particular leveland type of illumination, and selects the resolution according to theparticular security feature being examined. The DSP CPU 162 selects theillumination and resolution characteristics for the particular item typefrom a set of predefined characteristics in one of the memories.

In step 716, the DSP CPU 162 examines the image data to determinewhether the paper is valid. For example, the DSP CPU 162 can identifythe number and color of color threads (e.g., blue, red) in a portion ofthe paper. The DSP CPU 162 can activate a fluorescent illuminationsource where the security feature relies on fluorescence. If the DSP CPU162 determines that the paper is not valid, control pass to step 718,indicating an invalid bill has been identified. In response, the DSP CPU162 or some other controller can reject the item and/or provide asuitable warning. In step 720, the DSP CPU 162 examines the seal andother details of the item 41 to determine the item's validity. Ifinvalid, control again passes to step 718 identifying the invalid item.

In step 722, the DSP CPU 162 determines if the item 41 is from the 1996or later series. If the item 41 is from a series before the 1996 series,the DSP CPU 162 stops testing, concludes the item 41 is valid, andpasses control step 724 identifying the item 41 as valid. If the item 41is from the 1996 series, or a later series, the reader continuestesting, examining the micro-print on the item in step 726. Micro-printis a security feature added in the 1996 series to foil forgery usinghigh quality color copiers. If the DSP CPU 160 determines that themicro-print is invalid, control passes to step 718 indicating that theitem 41 is invalid. If valid, the DSP CPU 162 examines the item 41 for asecurity thread or security band in step 728. The security thread orband is a thin strip incorporate in the U.S. currency. If the DSP CPU162 determines that the security band is invalid, control again passesto the step 718 indicating the item 41 as invalid, otherwise the item 41is considered valid and control passes to step 724 indicating that theitem 41 is valid. The DSP CPU 160 can examine other security features asdesired, such as a watermark.

If the item 41 of value is recognized as a piece of foreign currency,the DSP CPU 162 determines the item's orientation in step 730, and thedenomination and series of the item 41 in step 732. In step 734, the DSPCPU 162 determines whether the image sensor 158 is imaging a front or aback of the item 41. If image sensor 158 is imaging the front of theitem 41, the image sensor 158 reads a serial number printed on the frontof the item 41 in step 736.

In step 738, the image sensor 158 images other portions of the item 41using varying levels and types of illumination, as well as varyinglevels of resolution. In step 740, the DSP CPU 162 examines the imagedata to determine whether the paper is valid. In step 742, the DSP CPU162 examines the image data to determine whether the ink color anddetail are valid. In step 744, the DSP CPU 162 examines other securityfeatures specific to the currency and determines whether those featuresare valid. In each case, control passes to step 718 to indicate that theitem 41 is invalid if any feature is determined to be invalid. Otherwisecontrol passes to the next sequential step, until all tests are completeand the item 41 is determined valid in step 724.

If the item of value 41 is recognized as a piece of scrip, for examplevaluable paper issued by the casino, the DSP CPU 162 determines theitem's orientation in step 746. In step 748, the DSP CPU 162 causes theimage sensor 158 to locate and read a machine-readable symbol encodingidentifying information for the scrip. For example, a bar code symbolcan encode the series, denomination, serial number and identification ofan issuing facility.

In step 750, the image sensor 158 images other portions of the item 41using varying levels and types of illumination, as well as varyinglevels of resolution. In step 752, the DSP CPU 162 examines the imagedata to determine whether the paper is valid. In step 754, the DSP CPU162 examines the image data to determine whether the ink color anddetail are valid. In step 756, the DSP CPU 162 examines other securityfeatures specific to the currency and determines whether those featuresare valid. In each case, control passes to step 718, indicating that theitem is invalid if any feature is determined to be invalid. Otherwisecontrol passes to the next sequential step, until all tests are completeand the item 41 is determined valid in step 724.

Play Tracking Software Module

FIG. 16 shows the play tracking and coordination software module 800receiving data and signals from the various other software modules todetermine the occurrence and identity of the game events, as well as,the player wagering and identity of player's cards 30. Thus, the playtracking and coordination software module 800 performs the tablemonitoring logic function 302 (FIG. 15).

FIG. 27 shows a simplified flowchart the play tracking and coordinationsoftware module 800 for monitoring the gaming table 10 when used for ablackjack game. For the sake of clarity, FIG. 27 does not representseveral parallel processes, such as monitoring the chip tray 36 and thedrop box 40 that are identified in other Figures. The gaming table CPU52 starts the play tracking and coordination software module 800 in step802. The appearance of one or more wager chips 22 (FIG. 1) in the wagercircle 24 on the gaming table 10 may trigger the start of the playtracking and coordinate software module 800.

In step 804, the gaming table CPU 52 determines whether there are anywager chips 22 on the gaming table 10 (FIG. 1). Typically, the gamingtable 10 will have a demarcated area for wagering, for example the wagercircles 24 in front of each player position. Any wager chips 22 withinthe demarcated area constitute a wager, while chips not within the wagercircles 24, such as chips 28, 38 are not a part of any wager. The gamingtable CPU 52 relies on data from the identify wagers software module 400(FIG. 16) to identify the wager chips 22. If there are wager chips 22,the gaming table CPU 52, in step 806, determines if any of the wagerchips 22 are new. If the gaming table CPU 52 locates a new wager chip22, the gaming table CPU 52 causes a player to be added in step 808. Ifthe gaming table CPU 52 does not locate new wager chips and hence a newplayer, the gaming table CPU 52 determines whether cards 32, 34 havebeen dealt to the dealer 12 in step 810. The gaming table CPU 52 relieson data from the identify dealt cards software module 450 (FIG. 16) toidentify the appearance of the dealt cards 32, 34. If the cards 32, 34have not been dealt to the dealer 12, the gaming table CPU 52 returns tostep 804, again checking for wager chips 22.

If cards 32, 34 have been dealt to the dealer 12, the gaming table CPU52 in step 812, determines the identity of the cards 30 held by each ofthe players 14, 16 and the dealer 12. The gaming table CPU 52 relies onthe information from the card order reading software module 500 (FIG.16) that identifies the value of each card in the order that the cardappears in the deck 18. By tracking the appearance of cards 30-34 on thegaming table 10, the gaming table CPU 52 can match the order ofappearance and the order of the card deck 18 to determine the value ofthe cards 30-34 held by the players 14, 16 and the dealer 12.

In step 814, the gaming table CPU 52 determines whether any player hassplit their hand. Again, the gaming table CPU 52 is relying on data fromthe identify dealt cards software module 450 (FIG. 16) to identify theappearance and location of cards 30 on the table. The play trackingsubsystem 56 can determine when one of the cards 30 has been moved froma first position representing one hand, to a second positionrepresenting a second hand. In step 816, the gaming table CPU 52 adds a“new” player if any player has split their hand. In step 818, the gamingtable CPU 52 determines whether any of the players 14, 16 have “doubleddown” their wager chips 22. The play tracking subsystem 56 can determinewhen wager chips 22 have been moved from a first position to a secondposition representing the doubling down. In step 820, the gaming tableCPU 52 appropriately modifies the wager amounts if any of the players14, 16 doubled down.

In step 822, the gaming table CPU 52 waits for the dealer 12 to take anadditional card or to stand. In step 824, the gaming table CPU 52computer determines the wins and losses based on its knowledge of thevalue of each card held by the player 14, 16 and the dealer 12. In step826, the gaming table CPU 52 checks the calculated winnings to be paidout and losses against the changes to contents of the chip tray 36. Thegaming table CPU 52 determines whether there is a discrepancy in step828, reporting any possible error in step 830 for possible verificationand action, and finishing execution at a restart step 832. If the gamingtable CPU 52 discovers a discrepancy in the order of the cards in thediscard holder, or an unexpected card, the gaming table CPU 52 reportsthe error in the step 830.

If gaming table CPU 52 does not detect a discrepancy, the gaming tableCPU 52 checks cards placed in a discard holder (not shown). If gamingtable CPU 52 discovers no discrepancy in step 836, the gaming table CPU52 compiles a set of result statistics in step 838, and prepares for anext hand or game by passing control to the restart step 832.

Integrated Casino System

A number of gaming tables 10 are shown in FIG. 28 networked over acomputer network, such as an Ethernet LAN 900 to a server 902 and acentral database including raw event data 904 and other data 906. Thegaming table CPU 52 executes play tracking and image analysis software908 for each gaming table 10, and can execute a software module 910 forperforming surveillance analysis, a software module 912 for performingdealer performance evaluations and a software module 914 for performingreal-time data transmission. Additional computers 916, 918 can accessthe information in the central database to perform surveillancemonitoring and reporting, respectively. The networking of gaming tables10 provides a number of benefits, such as casino-wide, real-timeaccounting, casino-wide tracking of players, and real-time progressivegaming, as described in detail below.

FIG. 29 shows the operation of one of the networked gaming tables 10.The play tracking software 908 broadcasts a series of messages 920 thatindicate the events detected on the gaming table 10 to the othersoftware modules. For example, the play tracking software 908 broadcastsa card decode event each time a new card is detected on the playingsurface 26 (FIG. 1). The card order reading software module 500 receivesthe message and decodes the symbol of the respective card 19 to identifythe rank and suit of the card. Similarly, a broadcast of game actionevents causes a surveillance module 922 to execute surveillance analysissoftware 924 to detect suspect playing and wagering patterns. Thebroadcast of an employee event (e.g., changing dealers at a gamingtable, etc.) triggers an employee data logging 926. The monitoringsystem 50 stores play information 928 and employee information 930 in adatabase 932. An image acquisition driver 934 drives the imageacquisition, while a table position mapping module 936 interacts withthe play tracking and image analysis software 908 to locate the positionof wager chips 22 and cards 30-34 on the gaming table 10.

Player Profiling and Identification

To create a comprehensive player profile, the monitoring system 50tracks players 14, 16 from gaming table 10 to gaming table 10, or fromtime to time at the same gaming table 10. The monitoring system 50 canrely on some, or all, of a variety of player tracking methods toidentify players 14, 16 as they move between gaming tables 10, or as theplayer 14, 16 resumes playing after a period of inactivity (e.g., a fewminutes, days, months, or years).

Some players 14, 16 will present a player identity or “comp” card (notshown), that contains player identifying information. The ability toreceive complimentary benefits provides an incentive for the players 14,16 to present such a card. The card may include identifying information,such as a name, address, and/or a unique serial number encoded in amagnetic stripe on the card.

Some players 14, 16 are reluctant to present such identifyinginformation to the casino, especially players that are employingprohibited tactics. The system employs other methods for identifyingthese players 14, 16, for example, automated facial recognition. Videocameras 5 (FIG. 1) at the gaming tables 10 provide images of the players14, 16 at each playing position. The monitoring system 50 can processthe image data, and compare the image data taken at different times tomatch facial characteristics, such as hair color, eye color, thepresence of facial hair, or other facial features. The monitoring system50 can use the matching to uniquely associate the player 14, 16 with anidentity. Alternatively, the monitoring system 50 can use the matchingto identify the player 14, 16 as being the same player who played at adifferent gaming table 10 or at the same gaming table 10 at a differenttime. It is not necessary to identify a player by name to build a playerprofile. For example, the monitoring system 50 can track anon-identified player across a number of gaming tables 10 to establish apattern of prohibited playing strategies. The particular player 14, 16can then be asked to leave the casino without ever specificallyidentifying the offending player by name.

A still further method of identifying players 14, 16 is through thetracking of wager chips 22. Each chip can have a unique serial number.The monitoring system 50 associates a wager chip 22 with a player 14, 16when the player initially receives chips at the casino's bank. Themonitoring system 50 scans the chips 38 in the chip tray 36 after eachhand or round. The monitoring system 50 can employ a knowledge of thechip contents of the chip trays 36 to track the path of a particularchip, from gaming table to gaming table, and to some extent, from playerto player. While such information may not absolutely identify a player14, 16, it can eliminate some players and increase the probability ofcorrectly identifying a particular player 14, 16.

For example, the monitoring system 50 can record an association betweenthe first player 14 and the identifiers of a number of chips initiallyissued to the first player 14 by the casino. The monitoring system 50can then identify the first player 14 at a first one of the gamingtables 10, through the “comp” card, facial recognition and/or theappearance of one or more of the issued chips in the chip tray 36 at thefirst table. The monitoring system 50 can ascertain the identity of thesecond player 16 at a second one of the gaming tables when a wager chip22 lost by the first player 14 at the first gaming table 10 turns up inthe chip tray 36 at the second gaming table. Once the wager chip 22disappears from the chip tray 36 at the first gaming table 10, themonitoring system 50 assumes that one of the winning players at thefirst gaming table received the chip lost by the first player 14. Facialrecognition may eliminate one or more of the winning players 16,allowing the monitoring system 50 to identify the player 16 through thecombination of chip tracking and/or facial recognition.

Progressive Gaming

The networked monitoring system 50 of FIGS. 28 and 29, permits theplaying of a progressive game in real time, based on the outcomes ofgames on multiple gaming tables 10. Thus, the financial performance ofeach gaming table 10 can be linked. For example, a payout for a winningplayer 14, 16 at one of a group of gaming tables 10 may be increasedover the normal table odds after a period of losses at the group ofgaming tables, or based on an entire amount of losses at the group ofgaming tables. Thus, as time goes on the size of the payout increases,or a jackpot grows.

Simulated Representation of Actual Gaming Environment

FIG. 30 shows a simulation 950 of an actual gaming environment on amonitor 952. The simulation 950 includes a graphical representation ofthe playing surface 954, including a graphical representation of thewager chips 956 placed by the players 14, 16 (FIG. 1) at the variousplaying positions and a graphical representation of the cards 958 dealtto those players and the cards 960 dealt to the dealer 12, representedat a given point in the game. While the player's cards 958 are typicallyfaced down during play, the monitoring system 50 knows the identity ofthe cards 958, 960, so the graphical representation can show the rankand suit of each of the cards 958, 960 marked on the graphicalrepresentations of the cards 958, 960. The player's hands can also berepresented as a chart 962, and a date and time of day displayed 964.

The simulation 950 also includes a graphical representation of the chiptray 966 and the chip 968 contents of the chip tray at the given pointin the game. The simulation can include a representation of the numberof chips of each denomination, as well as total amounts for eachdenomination of chip and for the entire chip tray in a chart 970.

The simulation 950 can further include a table of statistics 972 for theplayers, table and dealer. These statistics are computed by the gamingtable CPU 52. Additionally, the simulation can include a graphicalrepresentation of the playing patterns of the individual players at eachof the playing positions (numbered 1-7) in table form 974, along with aprediction on whether the player is employing a prohibited strategy,such as card counting. The monitor 952 can be at the gaming table 10and/or at a central security station, or elsewhere in the casino to bemonitored by casino security personnel.

System Summary

The above description sets out a non-intrusive system to record andanalyze data for accounting, marketing and/or financial purpose. Furtherdetails are set out in applicants' U.S. provisional patent application,Ser. No. 60/130,368, filed on Apr. 21, 1999, and entitled “TRACKINGSYSTEM FOR GAME OF CHANCE.”

Although specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevantart. The teachings provided herein of the invention can be applied tomonitoring systems for other wagering games, not necessarily theexemplary blackjack card game generally described above. For example,the table monitoring subsystem can track gaming objects other thancards, such as dice 1, 2 shown in FIG. 31, the position of a ball 3relative to a wheel 4 as shown in FIG. 32, or the position of a wheel offortune 6 relative to a pointer 7 as shown in FIG. 33. In each case,image data of the gaming object is compared at successive periods oftime to determine the outcome of the game play. This image data can becombined with image data corresponding to the wagers placed by theplayers to determine the amounts won or lost by the players. Theseamounts can be compared with the changes to the amounts in the chip traybased on the comparison of successive images of the chip tray.

The system can employ other methods of automatically tracking thecontents of the chip tray, and the identity and position of the gamingobjects. For example, the chips and/or the gaming objects can havesymbols other than optically detectable symbols, for example magneticstripes, encoding the identifying information. The system would theninclude magnetic readers in addition to, or instead of optical readerssuch as imagers, scanners and other image capture devices.

The monitoring system can have a different organization than theillustrated embodiment, combining some functions and/or eliminating somefunctions. The system can employ some of the disclosed automatedcomponents for some functions, while relying on manual methods for otherfunctions. The system can be more centralized, or more distributed, asis suitable for the particular gaming environment.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the above U.S. patents, patent applications,provisional patent applications and publications referred to in thisspecification, including, but not limited to, commonly assigned U.S.provisional patent application, Ser. No. 60/130,368, filed on Apr. 21,1999, and entitled “TRACKING SYSTEM FOR GAME OF CHANCE,” and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/474,858, filed Dec. 30, 1999, and entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING CASINOS AND GAMING,” areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Aspects of theinvention can be modified, if necessary, to employ systems, circuits andconcepts of the various patents, applications and publications toprovide yet further embodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the invention to thespecific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, butshould be construed to include all gaming monitoring systems and methodsthat operate in accordance with the claims. Accordingly, the inventionis not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is to bedetermined entirely by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of automatically monitoring gaming on a gamingtable, comprising: providing a chip tray carrying at least one imager;positioning said chip tray on the gaming table; imaging at least aportion of the gaming table including the wagering piece and the gamingpiece with the first imager to create image data of the portion of thegaming table; and processing image data from the first imager toidentify at least one wagering piece on the gaming table and at leastone the game piece on the gaming table.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: operating the first imager to image at least aportion of the gaming table at a first time and a second time; andcomparing image data from the first imager at the first time to imagedata from the first imager at the second time to detect an appearance ofat least one of the wagering piece and the game piece on the gamingtable.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a valueof the wagering piece.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying a value of the gaming piece.
 5. The method of claim 1wherein the at least one gaming piece includes a playing card.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the at least one gaming piece on the gamingtable includes at least one die.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the atleast one wagering piece on the gaming table includes a chip.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: automatically determining anoutcome of the gaming for at least one player based on the identified atleast one wagering piece and the at least one game piece.
 9. A method ofautomatically monitoring gaming on a gaming table, comprising: providinga chip tray carrying at least one imager; positioning said chip tray onthe gaming table; imaging at least a portion of the gaming tableincluding the wagering piece with the first imager to create image dataof the portion of the gaming table; and processing image data from thefirst imager to identify at least one wagering piece on the gamingtable.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: operating thefirst imager to image at least a portion of the gaming table at a firsttime and a second time; and comparing image data from the first imagerat the first time to image data from the first imager at the second timeto detect an appearance of at least one of the wagering piece on thegaming table.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: identifyinga value of the wagering piece from the image data.
 12. The method ofclaim 9 wherein the at least one wagering piece on the gaming tableincludes a chip.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:identifying a value of the wagering piece from the image data; andautomatically determining an outcome of a wager for at least one playerbased at least in part on the identified at least one wagering piece.